If They Would Just Stop Acting So. . . BLACK!

This week, a Galesburg, Illinois high school denied five minority students their diplomas. The students fulfilled all the state requirements for graduation, but their parents apparently made too much noise during the commencement ceremonies. Several attendees noted that white students whose families made noise were not similarly denied diplomas.

It would be easy to suggest that the school officials are bigoted, but that’s not necessarily the case. They are, however, racist, and here’s why: they had a predetermined expectation about how people of color behave in situations like this. It’s an expectation that is certainly grounded in their experiences and in reality (just as most stereotypes that lead to prejudice are). Because of America’s history of discrimination, it is still the case that many black students graduating college or high school in 2007 are the first in their families to do so. Black students disproportionately face more obstacles during their time in school. Further, black culture is such that at many community gatherings – be it a church service, a film in a black neighborhood theater, or a graduation service – black folks often express themselves vocally. This tradition is neither preferable nor repugnant as compared to the Anglo tradition of sitting quietly until the “appropriate” time to respond. It’s just different. But in our culture, white folks make the rules, and they make them (consciously or otherwise) in accordance with their own cultural expectations.

Thus, to try to keep “decorum” in the ceremony, the rules were in place. Whether the black audience members violated them for their children and friends more egregiously than the white folks did is something we can’t know (and something that is pretty subjective anyway – did they employ a sound meter?). But it doesn’t matter. The school officials were affected by what cognitive psychologists refer to as “confirmation bias.” In other words, when the black students’ families broke the rules, it was expected, was consistent with the officials’ predispositions, and it was therefore noted. When the white families did so, it was processed by school officials as an anomaly rather than a pattern, and therefore not “recorded” as a violation in their brains. The end product is that the five students in question are now expected to serve eight hours of community service before getting their awards.

It’s instructive to read local community members’ comments about this story. Check out the piece in the online version of the Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph, with reader comments at the bottom.

It may or may not be an example of bigotry by school officials; it is definitely an example of racism.